Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia police and aid were called just after midnight to the railroad tracks near East Summa Street after a woman was struck by a passing freight train.

Forty-four-year-old Brenda V. Jones-Gonzales survived with what the Centralia Police Department called non-life-threatening injuries. Jones-Gonzales was bending down when she was hit in the shoulder and head, according to police.

Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Terry Ternan said the woman was just next to the tracks about 200 feet south of the crossing when firefighters arrived, and able to talk.

“When we found her, she was sitting next to a pool of blood,” Ternan said. “She said she didn’t get hit, she thought she fell down.”

The patient had a serious laceration on her head, but her biggest complaint was her shoulder, he said.

Ternan said his understanding was the conductor on the northbound train had seen her bending over by the track and then stumble; they tried to slow down, they stopped and called 911.

They knew they hit her, he said.

Some hair found on the end of what’s sometimes referred as a cow catcher at the front of trains was believed to be hers, he said.

Jones-Gonzales was cited for criminal trespass for being on the tracks, according to police, and then released.

She was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital where she was treated and then was transferred to an undisclosed hospital.

It’s a good reminder of why it’s trespassing to walk along or cross train tracks in undesignated areas, Ternan said.

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A father and his 12-year-old son were seriously injured when something exploded on their small family farm in Randle yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters called about 4:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Peters Road found the two burn patients and the mother at the house.

The two males were flown by a LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, which has a burn center, according to Lewis County Fire District 14.

Fire Chief Jeff Jaques said the mother, who is a member of the volunteer fire department, was taken to Morton General Hospital with burns on both her hands from trying to help them.

“I don’t know for sure what happened,” Jaques said last night about 9 p.m. after returning from notifying other relatives.

It appeared to have occurred outside near a shop building, as when they arrived, they also found a car burning, Jaques said. Jaques said he suspected they were working on or with some equipment or tools.

Eight Randle firefighters handled the patient care and they let a crew from Glenoma deal with the burning car, he said.

Jaques was informed by the hospital last night the males’ conditions were critical, he said. Someone was going to be taking the mother down to be with them, he said.

The chief said he planned to return to the scene once it was light again to continue his investigation.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded as well and said they believe the incident involved a plasma cutter, a power tool used to cut metal.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A lawyer representing the Chehalis woman accused of stealing more than $50,000 from a concrete business where she was the bookkeeper told a judge the alleged victim and the defendant were in a relationship and the allegations came up after they broke up.

Angela D. Sawyer

Angela D. Sawyer, 39, was arrested and jailed on Wednesday after the Chehalis Police Department finished an investigation that began this summer, following a report from Jerry Nixon, the owner of Apex Mobile Mix.

Sawyer was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday with first-degree theft and first-degree identity theft.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher requested high bail, telling the judge Sawyer was suspected of wrongdoing involving a number of debit cards from other individuals.

Defense attorney for the day Joely O’Rourke countered that the allegation involved just one card belonging to one man and requested unsecured bail in the amount of $10,000. Meagher apologized and said he must have misread the filing, drafted by another prosecutor.

Judge Richard Brosey agreed with the unsecured amount.

Sawyer, who now works with the Area Agency on Aging, resides in Chehalis with her teenage son, according to O’Rourke.

According to charging documents, Nixon contacted police on July 27 after recently signing up to receive Internet bank statements and saw several transactions he did not make or authorize, including some for cash. He told the officer he learned from his bank they were made on a debit card he did not know existed.

Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said the owner of the business with locations in Napavine and Chehalis was asked to gather up financial records.

Charging documents go on to give the following account:

Nixon told police he found out the debit card had been mailed out and he learned Sawyer had the card. He said she admitted to having the card and returned it to him.

Late last month, Nixon brought the various documents to the police department and showed receipts he said had nothing to do with company purchases totaling $51,772.89.

“Also in the papers Nixon brought were questionable checks written by Sawyer,” prosecutors wrote. “These checks appeared to be paying for Sawyer’s personal bills and needs.”

The total comes to more than $72,800, missing from between July 2012 and the end of this past July.

Nixon told a police detective that Sawyer and he were in a relationship, but she was never a co-signer on the account.

He said Sawyer told him she got into drugs and was using the money to support her habit.

Sawyer has no criminal history, according to prosecutors.

Because she earns only $1,300 per month, she qualified for a court appointed attorney. Her arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.